Sermon for the Lord’s Day

August 2, 2009

Rev. Lorelei Hillman

“Bread from Heaven”

John 6:24-35

²⁴So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum looking for Jesus.

²⁵ When they found him on the other side of the lake, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’ ²⁶Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For it is on him that God the Father has set his seal.’ ²⁸Then they said to him, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ ²⁹Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.’ ³⁰So they said to him, ‘What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? ³¹Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, “He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” ’ ³²Then Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’ ³⁴They said to him, ‘Sir, give us this bread always.’

³⁵ Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

In the Gospel reading, John tells us that Jesus had fed the multitudes.  They were hungry people, hungry in their bodies, but hungry in their spirits, too.  Having gotten a taste of the bread he had to offer, they were determined to stay with him, and to take up whatever they could get.  Imagine…

“Free bread” they told me.  This man named Jesus had been handing out free bread.  Of course I wanted to find out more; times were hard and food is harder and harder to come by.  We’ve had enough, but we also know those who don’t.  Free bread would come in handy.  He made us all feel a little guilty when he said, ‘work for the food that endures’ since we weren’t really thinking about that at all.  We just wanted our pockets filled with a bit left over to share with the family.

I was a bit shocked when he mentioned ‘the Son of Man.’  I mean, we all know about that old messianic prediction, but who really expects it to come true anymore?  We’ve been talking about it for generations, that God will send someone to save us from oppression and suffering. 

But when have we, as a people, ever really known freedom?  We’ve had to learn to rely on ourselves!  Oh, I’m sure God cares, but life is just what you make of it, isn’t it?  So it may have been a little sarcastic to ask, ‘What must we do to perform the works of God?’ but it’s a legitimate question.  What is it that God really expects of us; we’d like to know!

Then some fool had to ask for a sign.  Honestly.  As if that magic, mumbo-jumbo stuff had anything to do with God!  Come to think of it, I know the guy who said that bit about manna.  He’s in the synagogue all the time, pestering the priests with questions.  Well, I suppose he would bring up the whole “manna” thing; after all, he is a history buff. 

It must have been wonderful to be alive at the time of the exodus!  To see the power of God at work, first in our flight from the Egyptian slave-masters, then in the way God cared for us as we traveled to the promised land.  Yes, yes, I suppose it must have been hard then, too.  But at least they had free bread!  Just to wake up every morning, and gather up what you need for that day.  No back-breaking labor in the fields, no gleaning at the edges of the field if you don’t own land.  No winnowing, no mill work, not even baking!  Now there’s the life we hope the ‘messiah’ will bring!

No, I haven’t forgotten.  Yes, it was forty years.  But it was free bread – I mean, why would anyone get tired of free bread?  Never mind the camping; the Bedouin do it all the time and it doesn’t seem to bother them! 

Okay, I’ll give you that, I would probably have missed having other foods.  And the camping would have gotten old after a while, too, what with all the sand in everything and the endless hiking.  Forty years is a long time to sleep on the ground, night after night.  And they do say that the manna was a bit tiring; after all, ‘manna’ means “what is that?”

Still, that was a long time ago.  Why would anyone be asking for a sign today?  It’s not like we really expect God, or God’s messiah to show up.  God just doesn’t work that way anymore.  No; I believe in God, I just don’t think that God is too terribly concerned with what’s going on in our little lives. 

That Jesus said, “…it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.”  Well, I wonder where he’s been.  We don’t have enough bread to eat from earth, never mind any ‘bread from heaven.’  In a way, we’re not far removed from Egyptian slavery. 

God did promise us a land of our own, but where is it – we just keep working for the Romans or whoever else happens to be occupying us.  How much longer do we have to wait?

Forty years!  That’s good!  Yes, yes, I see your point.  We’re not completely starving to death, we have food, we have a place to live.  What does that prove?  You can’t really call this a ‘life.’  I’ve seen how those Romans live!  All the food they want, tasty tidbits and fruit of all sorts; the best fabrics, the finest marble, statues from Egypt, jewelry from the East.  How about God gives us a little of that sort of lifestyle?  Frankly, if I had that sort of a life, heaven could wait!

Okay, all joking aside, what was it that this Jesus was really saying?  I mean he absolutely turned everyone off when he suggested that he was ‘the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.’  If there were such a bread, of course we’d want it, and not just today but every day.  But to suggest that he HIMSELF is that bread?  Well, he just went too far.  How dare he!  I think God will get him for that.

First of all, he came very, very close to blasphemy.  He said, “I AM,” just like when God spoke the divine name to Moses.  Some people just stood there gaping, like they’d seen a ghost.  But I can tell you, most of us were pretty angry that he was making a claim like that.  He’s going to get in some deep trouble if he keeps talking like that.

He’s trying to lead the people astray.  I’m sure you can see that.  He’s making promises he can’t keep, and people are going to get hurt.  He says, “Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”  And the poor people, well they think he is talking about filling their stomachs.  You and I know he’s not, but that’s not the point – he’s setting folks up for suffering.  They’ll think God is showing up for them in this Jesus guy, and when they find out the truth they will really be upset.  It may ruin their faith altogether.  He should just leave well enough alone.  Give them their bread if he can, but stop messing with their heads and their hearts.

Theirs is a simple faith – when they have enough to eat and drink, they think God is on their side.  You and I, well, we’re more sophisticated than that, aren’t we.  We know that God cares, but it’s a more abstract thing than bread on our table and wine in our cups. 

We’re not children, we know that God isn’t concerned with earthly stuff like that.  Jesus calling God “Father” – well, God’s just not like that!  A God like that would be into every part of our lives, and then where would we be?  It’s just not realistic.  No, I think God is more considerate than that, and keeps a civil distance.

Well, I just went home.  I heard that some others stayed, and that Jesus talked and talked.  One of my neighbors was complaining that her daughter has been completely corrupted.  The girl insists on ‘spreading the word’ about Jesus everywhere she goes.  She’s calling him the Messiah, which can only bring him more trouble; if she really cares about him, she should stop all that nonsense.  And you remember Ephraim’s boy, Judah?  He’s left the family entirely, and is traveling with Jesus all over the country.  Very inconsiderate of him with his parents getting on as they are! 

And all of this just because the man was giving away free bread…  Honestly, what is the world coming to these days?

How hard is it for us to hear what Jesus is really saying?  The bread on our tables, the drink in our cup, these are daily reminders of God’s eternal love and care for us.  We say grace, we eat, we drink, but how well do we remember that these common, everyday gifts are part of the living relationship we have with God, through Jesus the Messiah? 

How many years have you been wandering in the wilderness, eating what God provides day by day, and saying “What is that?”  The next time you prepare to taste God’s goodness, in whatever way it comes to you, take a few moments to put it into perspective.  What you are tasting is the whole promise of God – that no matter what you have had to leave behind, no matter how challenging or tedious, or downright boring the journey has been, you do not travel alone.  The deep hunger and thirst you have to experience God today, tomorrow, and always is being answered today, tomorrow, and forevermore. 

If you know Jesus, if you believe that he can bring you life, the hunger and the thirst at the core of your being will be satiated.  Take the bread he is offering.  Pick it up with both hands.  You are holding heaven.  Amen.